Tao Sach Temple

This is a Buddhist temple of the Taoist sect founded by monk Thuy Nguyet in the 16th century. Sister Thuy Nguyet used to impart her Buddhist knowledge not only at Tao Sach Pagoda but also in temples around West Lake. . The Cao Dong School is one of the five important Zen Buddhist sects in the Five Families Seven Schools - that is, the orthodox Zen school of Chinese Buddhist history. This is also one of the two sects of Zen Buddhism, along with the Lam Te School, that still exist and are spread to this day.

Legend has it that in the 13th century, Prince Uy Linh Lang, son of King Tran Nhan Tong and Queen Minh Duc, repeatedly asked his parents for permission to become a monk but was refused. After that, the Crown Prince ordered to build a small pavilion by the West Lake as a place to read books, meditate, write poetry, exchange literature and martial arts with friends. In 1287, emperor Nguyen - Mong launched the third invasion of the country, prince Uy Linh Lang joined the army and achieved countless feats.

When the prince died in 1300, the king ordered the construction of Nhat Chieu pagoda (present-day Nhat Tan temple) in memory of the prince. Also on the premises of the house, people built a shrine to commemorate him. At the beginning of the Le Dynasty (15th century), the wooden temple was renovated and built larger with the name Tao Sach Pagoda (meaning Reading Under the Sun).

The architecture of the pagoda follows the traditional architectural style, including a three-way gate, a bell tower, with a layout of many compartments including a ceremony space, a worship space, a shrine room for Mother Goddesses and a space for worshiping the Goddess of Mercy. In particular, the pagoda also preserves many precious documents in Chinese characters, transliterated in Vietnamese and relics of high artistic value such as 42 parallel sentences (39 couplets in Chinese characters, 3 couplets in Nom script); 23 lacquered diaphragm panels; 2 bells, one cast in the 3rd year of Minh Mang (1822).

The pagoda keeps 29 epitaphs, of which 12 were erected in the 16th year of Bao Dai (1941), especially there is a stele "Linh Son pyramid inscription" (recording memories of Linh Son pagoda) carved pattern of two dragons adoring the moon” on the top and eye-catching decorative motifs around the border; More than 40 statues of Buddha and Mother, most of them in 19th - 20th century art style, 3 in the late 18th century.

In addition to worshiping Buddha, Tao Sach Pagoda is also the headquarters of Hoa Nghiem, a Buddhist charity. Tao Sach Pagoda is one of the ancient temples in Hanoi that still retains the ancient and dignified beauty of Buddhism, attracting a large number of tourists and students to visit and read books. In 1994, the pagoda was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic.